Student Spotlight: Vincent Shieh

No one knows what lies ahead once one starts med school. The hope is to have picked the right school in order to learn, be successful and hopefully enjoy the journey. After completing his undergrad at the Unievrssity of Chicago, Vincent chose Trinity for a reason and has had an experience that he likely did not imagine when he sat at his White Coat ceremony.

When asked why he chose Trinity he stated:

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"I decided to attend Trinity School of Medicine because I believed that my potential as a future doctor did not depend only on match rates. In fact, it relies on personal drive to learn clinical knowledge and practice clinical skills. I believed that no matter what school I attended, hard work, love for medicine, and genuine concern for people and their well-being would lead to a successful residency match.

Due to our time on St. Vincent, Trinity students tend to struggle less with social and cultural barriers which is a common challenge for physicians. The preclinical years on the island offer students the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone as a professional earlier than those at other medical schools. There are also unique opportunities with the World Pediatric Project to participate in complex medical cases and network with doctors worldwide.

I did not consider the other Caribbean schools at all because they are too big. The incoming class sizes and policies made me feel like it would be difficult for the faculty and administration to take care of individual students. I attended every lecture at Trinity and got along very well with all the professors on campus. Luckily, I was paired with amazing preceptors for every single rotation. They all invited me back to do some volunteer work in my free time. I never had a chance to go abroad in undergraduate, so St. Vincent was quite the experience for me. I am really happy that I attend Trinity.

I am a rising M4 who is interested in pediatric neurology. As a classical musician and photographer who values creativity, I am driven to help children with increased risk for developmental deficits in cognitive, motor and social functions secondary to neurological disorder. To date, I have 11 years of experience in academic research that includes basic, clinical, and epidemiological research. Before Trinity, I completed a research fellowship at the National Institute of Health Clinical Center. I continued to contribute towards research at the NIH through both preclinical years and reestablished special research status at the start of clerkships in Baltimore, MD. I am currently assigned to 3 clinical trials to analyze data and provide technical support for diagnostic technologies.

Extracurricularly, I was involved with the Trinity Yurumein Orchestra as a violinist. I also helped found the Trinity Think Tank and Trinity Chess Club. My goals with these organizations were to nurture critical thinking and analytical skills and improve problem-solving skills and creativity.

I am planning to match pediatric neurology this coming cycle, so Mohamad [pediatric neurology from Trinity-see earlier post] and I plan to communicate. I am currently on my psych rotation where I am writing chapters for the next edition of Dr. Padder's clinical psychology textbook. I volunteer for a pediatric neurologist at Johns Hopkins and KKI. I am planning a clinical elective at the NIH and research elective at JHU."